After Odette gave Alex the time for her performance, which was later that afternoon, she stared as Alex, who was fighting the urge to look back for one last glimpse, walked away.

Seeing Alex, again, if it was truly her Alex, surprised Odette to an indescribable extent. She needed to think. Fortunately, Joan was walking nearby.

"Joan," she called. "Can you take over here?" Odette knew her voice was shaky.

"Sure, mother," Joan replied as she walked over. "Is something wrong?"

"No, no. Everything's fine." Odette's lie failed horribly, but Joan didn't ask any more questions. For Odette to act this flustered meant something very important had just happened, and she didn't want to make a possibly bad situation worse.

Odette walked far away from the grounds before allowing her carefully composed face to drop.

She was torn in two directions. Part of her insisted that Alex was dead. And yet, the other half of her screamed that the girl she had just talked to was Alex, her Alex.

In fact, all the evidence was stacked in the latter half's favor. The girl had Derek's hair and Odette's face. She was a singer, and singing was something everyone in the family did well. In fact, her voice was familiar, reminding Odette of her own.

Then there was the amount of time she had been an orphan; twelve years. Alex had been gone for twelve years, give or take a few months. They had recognized each other, although they weren't sure of the identity of the other. There was the 'no fear' attitude, which Alex had displayed since practically the day she was born.

Was it possible then, that Zelda hadn't killed Alex and that Alex had found her way back somehow?

XxX

"Who was the girl you were with earlier?" Eli asked Matthew when they finally decided to stop challenging each other to rematches on the obstacle course.

"Just a girl that I met," Matthew answered carefully, not wanting to make Eli think he had been talking to his long gone sister.

"She looked familiar. Is she a princess?"

Matthew choked on the answer. "I thought she looked familiar too," he said, sidestepping the question a bit. "But I wasn't sure where I met her."

"What's her name? Maybe I'll remember."

"Her name is Alex."

Eli stared at Matthew for a long, intense moment. "What?"

"Her name is Alex," Matthew repeated. "And I know; it's weird."

"Do you think she could be…?" Eli trailed off, almost afraid to finish his question.

"I don't know. She looked just like your mother, with your father's hair. She seemed to recognize Bromley and me. And she sings, or so she says."

Eli thought a moment. He was stunned. "Are you going to meet her again later?"

"I don't know. I didn't make arrangements. But she did sign up for the talent show. We could check what time she's going on with your mother so we can get another look."

"Good plan. Let's go."

Eli and Matthew tried to be as nonchalant as possible, hoping partly to see Alex, and at the same time hoping not. If they were wrong, if Matthew's eyes were only playing tricks on him after he heard her name, not to mention the fact that Eli couldn't see her at first, as she was too far away, it would be a huge disappointment. Although they hadn't acknowledged it within themselves or each other, they had gotten their hopes up. In some small way, they were counting on the mystery girl to be Alex.

There was a lot at stake for each other.

Eli had lost a sister, and seeing his parents so depressed and upset throughout the years made it that much worse.

Matthew's was a more difficult loss to understand. It wasn't a question of seeing his parents depressed, although they were greatly saddened for Odette and Derek's loss, as anyone would be. But it was a question of what could have been. He still wondered about her, wondered if he really disliked her as much as he thought he did or if it had been just a strange attraction that they fought tooth and nail to deny and disprove.

And speaking of disprove – there was the sign up table.

Unfortunately, Odette wasn't sitting at it.

Matthew and Eli walked over, confused and more than a little worried.

"Oh no," Matthew muttered.

"What?" Eli asked.

"I didn't think about your mother. I mean, I sent Alex over without thinking about whether or not it would upset her."

"'Oh no' is right, then."

They waited for a moment when there was a break in the line. Joan didn't seem to be completely into her work, which wasn't surprising, but still not a good sign.

"Where's mother?" Eli asked when he walked up.

"She walked off that way," Joan replied, pointing to her right, away from the festival. "She seemed upset."

"Great," Matthew grumbled, a little angry with himself for upsetting Odette.

"Guys, is something wrong?" Joan asked.

"Forget it," Eli said as he and Matthew hurriedly walked away in Odette's direction.

"I hate when you guys don't tell me anything!"

Eli and Matthew ignored her as they hurried off. They found Odette on thelake shore, staring at the water.

"Uh, Mother?" Eli called.

She turned to him, quickly wiping a tear from her eye. Matthew felt a quick twinge of guilt. "You saw her too, didn't you?" she asked.

"Yes," Matthew answered guiltily. "I did, anyway. Eli only got a glimpse of her from far away. I was the one who told her to sign up. I'm sorry if it upset you… and it looks like it did."

"You talked to her?"

"For a while, yes."

"We were wondering what time she's performing tomorrow," Eli said. "I want to get a better look at her."

"This afternoon," Odette replied. "She's the last one to go on."

"Do you think it's her?" Matthew asked candidly.

"I'm really not sure."

XxX

The afternoon passed quickly for all involved. Derek and Joan, although they had come to watch, didn't have the benefit of having things fully explained to them, but Eli, Odette, and Matthew agreed that it would be better not to influence their thoughts on seeing Alex.

Odette, Eli, and Matthew stood on one side of the audience, at the back. Derek and Joan stood opposite, not expecting anything out of the ordinary. They chatted for a while, not paying attention to the girl on the stage who held Odette, Eli, and Matthew's intense and undivided attention.

Finally, just as the sun was setting, it was Alex's turn to sing.

She gracefully took the stage, glad someone had cleaned it up after Frederick's omelet fiasco. There was a small crowd, not much bigger than the children who would gather around her as she sang at the orphanage.

Knowing there was no time left to prepare, she took a deep breath and began to sing.

"Far longer than forever
I'll hold you in my heart
It's almost like you're here with me
Although we're far apart

Far longer than forever
As constant as a star
I close my eyes and I am where you are

Sure as the dawn brings the sunrise
We've an unshakable bond
Destined to last for a lifetime and beyond"

Odette's eyes widened in surprise. "That song has never left this family," she whispered to Eli and Matthew, who were every bit as shocked as she was. From the other side of the audience, Odette could see Derek glancing first from Alex then to her and back again.

"Far longer than forever
I swear that I'll be true
I've made an everlasting vow
To find a way to you

Far longer than forever
Like no love ever known
and with your love
I'll never be alone"

There was no doubt that Alex could sing. To Derek, she sounded just like Odette. He hadn't really been paying attention before, but now that he was watching the girl, he could see she looked like Odette.

Joan stared at Alex. She knew, of course, that Alex had been kidnapped. She even had a pretty good idea of what her sister looked like. Seeing her family so flustered and excited made her wonder if she might finally be able to meet her big sister.

"Far longer than forever
Much stronger than forever
and with your love
I'll never be alone"

After the song was finished and the crowd erupted into unanimous applause, Derek and Joan made their way quickly over to Odette, Eli, and Matthew.

"How did she know that song?" Derek asked animatedly.

"There's no way she could have, unless…" Matthew trailed off.

"Derek, it's her," Odette said, sure of herself now. She gave him all the other evidence, which amazed him more and more as she went on. "It has to be her."

"Odette, I think you're right," Derek said. "How are we going to tell her?"

"I'll talk to her."

"Wait. What if we're wrong?" Joan asked.

"We're not."